It was another Tuesday morning. Just like most of the people from my generation these days, I scrolled the newsfeed on my Facebook immediately I woke up. Soon I found myself staring at all the flags shown under the caption saying countries with lowest inflation rate. Bahrain captured my attention and I did some research on my Perplexity AI. For the Middle East standard, apparently Bahrain wasn't an expensive country.
What I did just now reminded me of Australia and other countries I visited before. For a country with a currency weaker than SGD, Australia certainly was more expensive. On average, the meal was two times of what I would have paid in Singapore! So, no, Australia, didn't feel affordable. Perth was a nice place, though. And very generous with french fries.
Similar experience was felt in Hong Kong. I definitely felt the pinch the moment I traveled out from Shenzhen. Hong Kong was cramped and expensive. A tiny, costly hotel room as opposed to a much cheaper and spacious unit with living room that I had while I was in Shenzhen. China was generally okay, but Hong Kong was an exception!
India, on the other hand, was very cost friendly for SGD holders. The price of the Uber ride was so cheap that I couldn't help pressing the confirm button. It was the same feeling in Malaysia, especially Ipoh. The price was so unbelievably attractive that I wished I could have ordered ten Grab ride at one go.
Taiwan was also budget friendly. The most memorable moment I had was when I went through the Din Tai Fung bill. It was just about SGD 50. You certainly can't get this price for a family of four if you eat at any Din Tai Fung in Singapore!
Europe was a different ball game, though. The currencies, be it GBP, EUR or CHF, are stronger than SGD. Everything in UK and Western Europe also felt more expensive than Singapore. The time in Europe was one of the few times I felt inferior earning SGD. One consolation I had was the gelato. It was somehow much cheaper in Salzburg!
Brunei is unique because the currency is pegged to SGD at a fixed 1:1 exchange rate. I had this thought that it must be as developed as Singapore, too. Imagine my surprise when I visited the country. It was nowhere close to Singapore and somewhat comparable to Malaysia. I might be biased, but I couldn't shake of the feeling that things should have been cheaper in Brunei.
Having said that, the rest of Southeast Asia, from Myanmar to Indonesia, was a good place for me to travel. It was so affordable. Good and cheap! Cambodia was probably the only other exception, as KHR had a fixed exchange rate and the country also used USD as a legal tender. When we entered Cambodia from Vietnam, some of us actually paid USD 1 just to use the toilet.
Overall, it's still pretty cool to earn SGD and spend it on another currencies. It was fun to feel like a king. Even when things were much more expensive for us, at least SGD was strong enough to cushion it, haha. That probably explained why traveling was an option, not a luxury...
Uang dan Nilai Tukar
Di hari Selasa pagi, seperti kebanyakan orang di generasi saya, saya melihat-lihat Facebook begitu saya bangun. Ada satu gambar dengan banyak bendera yang memiliki tajuk negara-negara dengan tingkat inflasi terendah. Bendera Bahrain menarik perhatian saya. Riset pun segera dilakukan dengan Perplexity AI. Untuk ukuran Timur Tengah, ternyata Bahrain tidak tergolong mahal untuk dikunjungi.
Apa yang baru saja saya lakukan ini mengingatkan saya pada Australia dan beberapa negara lain yang pernah saya kunjungi sebelumnya. Untuk negara dengan mata uang lebih lemah dari SGD, Australia tidaklah murah. Secara rata-rata, harga sekali makan bisa dikatakan dua kali lipat dari harga di Singapura. Tapi Perth enak suasananya. Dan tempat makan di sana sangat murah hati dengan kuantitas kentang gorengnya.
Pengalaman serupa terasa di Hong Kong. Perbedaan drastis ini dialami saat saya keluar dari Shenzhen. Hong Kong terasa padat dan mahal. Kamar hotelnya kecil, berbeda dengan kamar yang luas plus ruang tamu yang saya tempati di Shenzen. Rata-rata kota di Cina masih wajar harganya, tapi Hong Kong adalah pengecualian!
Di sisi lain, India sangat terjangkau bagi pemegang SGD. Harga Uber di sana sungguh terasa murah, sampai-sampai saya menekan konfirmasi tanpa keraguan. Sama halnya pula dengan Malaysia, terutama di Ipoh. Harganya selalu membuat saya tertawa dan berharap seandainya saja saya bisa langsung pesan 10 mobil sekaligus.
Taiwan juga ramah bagi yang ingin berhemat. Yang paling mengesankan adalah restoran Din Tai Fung. Hanya kisaran SGD 50 untuk makan siang. Harga segini sungguh mustahil bagi satu keluarga dengan dua anak yang bersantap di Din Tai Fung Singapura!
Kalau Eropa beda lagi ceritanya. Mata uangnya, mulai dari GBP, EUR atau CHF, lebih perkasa dari SGD. Segala sesuatu di Inggris dan Eropa Barat terasa lebih mahal dari Singapura. Satu hal yang sering terasa di Eropa adalah lemahnya SGD. Satu-satunya penghiburan yang saya temukan adalah gelato. Di Salzburg, harganya dua kali lebih dari Singapura.
Brunei tergolong unik karena mata uangnya yang dipatok 1:1 dengan SGD. Saya jadi membayangkan bahwa negaranya pastilah semaju Singapura juga. Bayangkan betapa kagetnya saya pas tiba di sana. Negara ini lebih mirip Malaysia daripada Singapura. Saya mungkin bias, tapi berdasarkan apa yang saya lihat, saya jadi merasa seharusnya harga barang-barang di Brunei lebih murah.
Negara-negara lain di Asia Tenggara, mulai dari Myanmar sampai Indonesia, sangat ramah bagi kantong saya. Murah dan terjangkau! Kamboja mungkin satu-satunya pengecualian karena KHR memiliki kurs tetap dan juga menggunakan USD dalam jual-beli. Ketika kita memasuki Kamboja dari Vietnam, beberapa di antara kita membayar mahal USD 1 hanya untuk kencing.
Secara umum, pendapatan SGD dan pengeluaran menggunakan mata uang lain memang masih ok. Sedap rasanya saat menjadi seperti raja. Bahkan ketika segala sesuatu terasa lebih mahal, ketangguhan SGD sangat membantu dalam membendung kemahalan yang terasa. Mungkin ini alasannya kenapa berjalan-jalan adalah pilihan, bukan kemewahan...
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